Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai
Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai (ドラゴンボールZ 真武道会, Doragon Bōru Zetto Shin Budōkai; lit. "Dragon Ball Z: True Tournament") is a fighting video game part of the ''Dragon Ball'' series. It was developed by Dimps, and was released on March 7, 2006. It is the first Dragon Ball Z game on the PlayStation Portable. Its sequel is Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road. Overview Scenario story mode is a new story (which takes place 2 years after the defeat of Majin Buu) based on the events of the movie Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn. The players follow the events of the story in which you choose Goku and friends, including enemy characters, along the way. The choices that the player makes determine how the story evolves. Another mode is the Arcade mode, a single player mode that lets him/her brawl against the CPU in order to fight and gain the Dragon Balls. Next is the Z Trial mode, which consists of two different types of play: Survival, where the player fights against CPU-controlled opponents for as long as he/she can, and Time Attack, where the player sees how fast he/she can make it through a predetermined set of opponents. Finally, there is the Profile Card mode, in which the players will have their in-game character profile cards that lists their name and power level. The players can design their own card and customize them with items from the game's store. Key Features *High-speed wireless multiplayer battles featuring the universe's most powerful fighters *18 playable characters, including prize fighter Pikkon *Revamped version of the acclaimed Saiyan Overdrive fighting system *In-game transformations to more powerful forms *All-new stage based on the Janemba movie *Seven game modes, including a compelling story mode called Dragon Road Gameplay This game was developed by the producer of Dimps, the game included a brand new technique known as the "Aura Burst" which allowed your character to move across the screen at high speed toward the opponent. When Bursting and pressing an attack button, you could dish out fast combos or blows that stun your opponent. Making long chain combos similar to the ones from Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 was much more difficult, but blocking was made slightly easier by using the Aura Burst as a canceler. Despite most criticism, Shin Budokai's fighting system was deeper than initially expected. Dragon Road This is the name of the story mode in Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai. It is based on the movie Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn. As the player moves along in the story, different fights will show up, such as a friendly competition (a fight between Goku and Krillin) or a showdown against evil. The Dragon Road mode takes the player on a trip to see the events from Fusion Reborn in a totally revamped way; things that were in the movie are different in the game. It starts off with Goku and his friends going out on a camping trip, but they are interrupted when a portal to Earth from Hell is opened, and the dead are being brought back to life. Goku and his friends have to fight their way through, from the plains of Earth to the ruins of Hell. The Dragon Road consists of 5 chapters, with some branching out. The player has to choose which path to take, and the story will advance in different ways, based on these decisions. Training Mode In this mode, you can practice battles with the CPU. You have to pick two characters to fight with, choose the battlefield, and set your health, starting ki, and check energy. *Health: The amount of health you wish to begin the fight with, which you can also set for the CPU. (They don't have to be the same.) There are 7 bars of health, each a different color. *Starting Ki: How much energy you want to begin the battle with. You can give yourself an advantage by setting the CPU's Ki energy to low. There are 7 bars of Ki. *Check Energy: The amount of Ki needed to teleport behind the enemy to dodge his/her attack. For example, the original ki consumption for teleporting is 3 ki bars. The higher you make it, the more ki it consumes. The lower, the less ki it takes. Network Battle Mode This is the mode were you can have wireless multiplayer battles with your friends. Here, you can also add friends to your Profile Card, and view theirs as well. Every battle you win will raise your power level. (Shown on the main menu, on the dragon radar.) It will also increase your Victory Ratio, which is displayed on your Profile Card. Arcade In this mode, you select your character, and head out to battle. The objective of this mode is to collect all the dragon balls. Although, you don't get any wishes of your own, the characters ask the eternal dragon for something they want. You'll fight 10 opponents in a row, and at certain points in the Arcade Mode, you'll come across an opponent you'll have a dialog scene with. Time Attack In this mode, located in Z trial, you'll be asked to fight certain enemies as fast as possible. There are seven courses in total. *Course 1: Challenge Goku's eternal friends and rivals! Fight Goku's friends. *Course 2: Stops the rivals and enemies that stand in Goku's way! Fight enemies of Goku. *Course 3: Burning soul behind a cool demeanor! Fight powerful characters. *Course 4: Even if you get beaten, keep training and get stronger! Fight Goku in all his transformations and fusions. *Course 5: The warriors who've exceeded their limits! Fight transformed characters. *Course 6: Fight for future peace! Fight even stronger characters. *Course 7: The legendary Super Saiyans Fighting Spirits! Fight saiyans. Survival This is a mode where you pick your character, and fight non-stop enemies, until you lose. After a certain amount of wins, your health will not regenerate fully. Profile Card Here, you can create a special ID card that is used during Network Battles. It records your data, battles won, battles lost, Survival Records, Time Attacks, Rankings in Dragon Road, Power Level, Friends, Money, and your Victory Ratio. You can also buy stamps from the shop to customize it to your liking. Playable Characters *Goku (Base, Kaio-ken, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3) *Vegeta (Base, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, Majin Vegeta) *Teen Gohan (Base, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2) *Gohan (Base, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2, Elder Kai's Unlock Ability) *Pikkon *Android 18 *Krillin (Base, Unlocked Potential) *Future Trunks (Base, Super Saiyan) *Piccolo (Base, Fuse with Kami) *Frieza (Final Form, 100% Full Power) *Cell (Perfect form, Super Perfect form) *Kid Buu *Cooler (Base, Final Form) *Broly (Super Saiyan, Legendary Super Saiyan) *Gotenks (Base, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 3) *Vegito (Base, Super Vegito) *Gogeta (Super Saiyan) *Janemba Stages Some stages are similar to those found in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai series. *'Desert' – An uninhabited desert, rocky land. This is where Goku and Vegeta fought for the first time. *'Plains' – This is a nice grassy field. Also a good open area for fighting. This is where Goku fought Raditz. *'Ruins' – This is dying planet Namek. This is were Super Saiyan Goku fought Frieza. *'Snow Plains' – The snowy plains is home to an abandoned Red Ribbon Army base. *'Temple' – This stage is entirely in the sky, by Kami's Lookout. *'Hell' – This is the battleground where Janemba was fought. Also known as the "Home For Infinite Losers". *'Hyperbolic Time Chamber' – The site where Gotenks and Super Buu fought. Also called "The Room of Spirit and Time". Reception Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai received more positive reviews then negative. It usually received a 7 out of 10, but other reviewers gave it a larger score. *Deeko.com 8/10 *1UP.com 7/10 *GameSpot 7.5/10 *IGN.com 7.0/10 GameSpot says, "Shin Budokai still stands as a fun and accessible 3D fighter." IGN states, "Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai is a very simplistic fighter with a "so bad it's good" storyline wrapped in an extremely portable package." 1UP states "consider Shin Budokai among the best of the lot." Finally, Deeko.com states that, "Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai offers up a fantastic, albeit simplified, combat system, entertaining storyline and incredible art design and execution." The game has recieved a 70/100 on Metacritic. Inconsistencies There are some errors in the European version of the game, such as: *When Goku asks Krillin how his head turned bald, Krillin responds with 19 and Maron used me as a toy while I was sleeping. This should say 18 instead of 19. *King Yemma is referred to by his original Japanese name, King Enma, while other characters still keep their English names. *The in-game Command List lists Future Trunks' Finish Buster as Finish Bustert. Gallery External links *[http://www.bandaigames.channel.or.jp/list/psp_dbz/ Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Official Japanese website] *[http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/dragon-ball-z-shin-budokai-psp.html Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Official PlayStation website] *[http://psp.ign.com/objects/704/704798.html Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai at IGN.com] *[http://www.gamespot.com/psp/action/dragonballz/index.html Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai at Gamespot.com] Category:Dragon Ball games Category:Fighting games Category:Video Games Category:Video games where Android 18 is playable Category:Video games where Broly is playable Category:Video games where Cell is playable Category:Video games where Cooler is playable Category:Video games where Frieza is playable Category:Video games where Gogeta is playable Category:Video games where Gohan is playable Category:Video games where Goku is playable Category:Video games where Gotenks is playable Category:Video games where Janemba is playable Category:Video games where Kid Buu is playable Category:Video games where Krillin is playable Category:Video games where Piccolo is playable Category:Video games where Pikkon is playable Category:Video games where Trunks is playable Category:Video games where Vegeta is playable Category:Video games where Vegito is playable